Water-closet attachment.



w. G. ODELL, 1R. WATER CLOSET ATTACHMENT.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. II, 1915.

Patented Apr. 4, 1916.

WITNESSES.-

UNITED sTATEs PATENT oEEioE.

WALTER GEORGE ODELL, JR., OF BALTIMORE, MARYLAND, ASSIGNOR OF SIXTY ONE-HUNDREDTHS TO WILLIAM J. FLANNERY, OF BALTIMORE, MARYLAND.

WATER-CLOSET ATTACHMENT.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 4:, 1916.

Application filed October 11, 1915. Serial No. 55,327.

T all 'whom t may concern Be it known that I, IVALTER G. ODELL, Jr., acitizen of the United States, residing at Baltimore, State of Maryland,have invented a new and useful Tater-Closet Attachment, of which thefollowing is a specification.

This invention has reference to attachments for water-closets, and itsobject is to provide a device which will automatically turn the seat onits hinge into and hold it in an upright position.

In accordance with the present invention an attachment is provided to besecured to the under face of the seat and by engagement with the rim ofthe bowl react thereon to hold the seat in an upright position, and inthe event of a cover accompanying the seat, the cover is also raised toand held in the upright position. f v

The attachment comprises a casing with an extended basic portion adaptedto be secured to the under face of the seat by screws or otherwise, andin the casing there is lodged a drum or spindle surrounded by and towhich is attached one end of a spring, the other end of the spring beingextended in the form of an arm terminating in a straddling memberadapted to rest on and partially embrace the rim of the bowl. but in amanner permitting it to readily slide along the rim; Provision is madefor tensioning the spring either before or after the device is attachedto the seat, so that one type of seat-raising structure may be readilyadapted to water-closet seats of different weights.

The invention will be best understood from a consideration of thefollowing detailed description, taken in connection with theaccompanying drawings forming part of this specification. with thefurther understanding that while the drawings show a practical form ofthe invention, the latter is not confined to any strict conformity withthe showing of the drawings, but may be changed and modified so long assuch changes and modifications come within the scope of the appendedclaims.

In the drawings: Figure 1 is a perspective view of a water-closet withthe attachment applied and with the seat raised. Fig. 2 is a plan viewof the structure of Fig. 1 with the seat and its cover lowered. Fig. 3is a plan view of a portion of the attachment on a larger scale thanFigs. 1 and 2.

Fig. 4 is a section on the line 4.*4 of Fig. 3, and showing thestructure attached to a seat. Fig. 5 is a section on the line 5 5 ofFig. 3. Fig. 6 is a perspective view of a removable journal bracket forthe spring spindle. Fig. 7 is a perspective view of one form ofrim-engaging member. Fig. 8 is a perspective view of another form ofrimengaging member. Fig. 9 is a perspective view of still another formof rim-engaging member.v Fig. 10 is a longitudinal section of therim-engaging portion of the structure of Fig. 9. Fig. 11 is an elevationof the spring casing as seen on the right hand end of Fig. 8. 7o

Referring to the drawings there is shown a water-closet bowl 1. seat 2and cover 3 with the usual combined seat and co'ver hinges 4. The bowlis, as is customary, provided with a marginal rim 5.

The showing of the water-closetstructure is that of a known form and isto be taken as indicative of any form of water-closet to which thepresent invention is applicable.

The attachment comprises an elongated strap 6 terminating at one end ina casing 7 The strap and casing are readily made of sheet metal ofsuitable gage stamped or cut into shape, with the casing comprisingoppositely bent lateral wings on the strap at one end of the latter.That end of the. casing remote from the strap G is in part closed by abent-over continuation S of theA strap, so that the continuation 8extends transversely of the corresponding end of the casing to an extentgreater than half the width of the casing. At an appropriate point,which may be about coincident with the longitudinal axis of the casing,the latter being usually cylindrical, the extension 8 has a passage 9therethrough, which passage is ordinarily, though not necessarily, ofsquare form.

Close to that end of the casing 7 remote from the extension 8 is abracket 10 shown separately in Fig. 6. This bracket has a foot pieceprovided with an elongated slot 11 and an angle extension 12 at one endhaving a round passage 13 through it in position to aline with thepassage 9. Furthermore, the angle extension 12 has a stop piece 14struck out therefrom in a\ direction away from the base of the bracket.A bolt 15 or bracket having a range of adjustment lengthwise of thestrap provided by the slot 11. l

Vithin the casing '7 is a drum 16 with an axial spindle extension 17 atone end and another axial spindle extension 18 at the other end. Thespindle 17 has a square portion 19 adapted to the passage 9 and a roundportion 20, which, when the square portion 19 is withdrawn from thepassage 9, will still remain in the passage, thus supporting thecorresponding end of the drum, but in a manner permitting rotation ofthe drum. The spindle extension 18 is of square cross-section of a sizeto snugly yet freely lit the passage 13 which latter is round.Encircling the drum 16 is a helical spring 21 having one end 22extending into the drum so as to anchor the spring thereto. At the endof the spring remote from the anchoring extension 22 is an elongated arm23, which may be an integral part of the spring, and this arm is ofsufficient length for the purpose intended, which purpose will presentlyappear. When the drum 16 is in place that turn of the spring continuedinto the arm 23 is engaged or in close relation to the stop piece 14:,wherefore the spring, which may be under slight longitudinal compressionbecause of engagement with the stop piece, has the spindle end 17effectively held with the square portion 19 seated in the square passage9. The length of the spring 21 is such that when the spindle is soseated the arm 23 is close to the corresponding end of the casing 7between the latter and the bracket 10, which latter constitutes asupporting bearing for the spindle 18.

lVhen it is desired to increase or decrease the tension which may beupon the spring, it is only necessary to grasp the protruding end of thespindle 18 with a suitable tool, such as a pair of pliers, and draw thedrum toward the bracket 10 against the normal tendency of the spring 21which then is engaged by the stop piece 14. The extent of movement ofthe drum lengthwise of. its axis is such that the square portion 19 ofthe spindle 17 is drawn out of the square,

hole 9, whereupon the spindle' 18.being in a round hole 13 and the roundportion 20 of the spindle 17 being inthe square hole ,9, the drum may berotated in either'direction and on an easing of the withdrawing forcethe expansion of the spring 21 then forces the square portion 19 of thespindle 17 into the square hole 9, thus holding the spring in its newcondition of tension.

That end of the arm 23 remote from the spring 16 is bent at an angle toform a lateral extension 24: in turn at the end remote from the arm 23bent at an angle to itself and then returned upon itself, as indicatedat 25. From the extremity of the return portion 25 there is an extension26 substantially parallel with the bent portion 24 and spaced a shortdistance therefrom and of a length to project beyond the arm 23 to anextent approaching that of the projection of the angle extension 24 fromsaid arm. Finally the extension 26 is bent at substantially rightangles, as indicated at 27, into substantially parallelism with thereturn bend 25, but spaced therefrom a suflicient distance so that thereturn bend 25 may extend along one side of the rim 5 with the angleextension .-27 on the other side thereof, and under such circumstancesthe extension 26 would rest upon the bead, although ordinarily theextension 26 has an elongated rov tatable sleeve 28 thereon constitutinga rollerA i intended to directly bear upon the rim 5; l l

The strap 6 is provided with screwA holes 29 at appropriate points forthe reception of screws 30, whereby the strap is made fast to the underface of the seat 2 near the hinges 4 and extends transversely of thelonger axis of the seat, the latter being usually elliptical in form.Since it is quite customary to fasten the strap ends of the hinges 4 tothe under face of the seat onl the surface thereof, such hinge strapsproject a short distance from the under face of the seat, wherefore itis advisable to space the strap 6 from the under face of the seat 2 bywashers 31 or otherwise.

When the structure is installed the spring is tensioned suficiently byproperly rotating the drum 16 in the manner already stated, so that therim straddling yoke end of the arm 23 bears upon the rim 5 withsufficient force to overcome the weight of the seat and the cover whenpresent, and, therefore, elevate the seat to an upright position, suchas indicated in Fig. 1. Under such circumstances the arm 23 pressesunder the action of the spring 16 upon the rim 5 in a direction tendingto turn the strap 6 about c its longitudinal axis, but because the strapis fast to the seat the tendency of the spring is transmitted to theseat itself, and the latter is turned ,about the axis of the hinges 4 tothe upright position whenever the seat is free to move to such position.The seat and cover or the seat alone is readily .lowered on to the bowlagainst the action of the spring by the exertion of a comparativelymoderate force.

lVith heavy seats the spring 16 is put under considerable tension, whichis always sufficient to move the seat to the upright position whenreleased from a constraining force. Of course, with light seats thespring is tensioned to a less degree and the same is true when no coveris present.

The yoke end of the arm 23 readily slides along the rim 5, engaging thelatter at one side of the bowl, while the spring casing 7 may be solocated as to be entirely out of reach of the bowl and, therefore, notat all liable to injure the bowl. The yoke end of the arm 23 simplyslides back and forth on the rim 5 without injury to the latter and itsangle of leverage correspondingly changes. lVhen the angle is leasteffective the spring is at its greatest tension and when the angle ofleverage is most eifective the spring is under its least tension.

Sometimes it is advisable to have the yoke end of the arm 23 so shapedas to not only embrace the rim of the bowl on opposite sides thereof,but to underride the under edges of the rim where they project laterallyfrom the body of the bowl. For this purpose the extremities of thereturn portion 25 and the angle extension 27 are bent toward each other,as indicated at 32, 33, respectively, in Fig. 8.

Some rims may be wider than others, in which case the yoke portioninstead of having a continuous extension 26 has such extension dividedinto two parts 26a, 2Gb. respectively, as best shown in Fig. 10. Theseparts enter opposite ends of a tubular connector 34 held to therespective parts 26d and 2Gb by set screws 35, whereby the secticns 26a,26h may be spread apart to be placed into embracing relaticn to the rim5 and then drawn together and secured in the last-named position, aloose sleeve 28L having previously been lodged on the tube 34 betweenthe set screws 35 and designed to roll upon the rim 5 for the samepurpose as the sleeve 28 of the other figures.

The only part of the attachment fixed to any part of the water-closetstructure is the strap 6 fixed to the seat, which latter is customarilyof wood and, therefore, the strap 6 is handily made fast to the seat byscrews. No part of the water-closet structure is changed, detached ordisturbed in any manner for the application of the seat raisingattachment of the present invention. Moreover, the seat raisingattachment is of particularly simple constructicn and is adapted topractically all types of water-closets including those with porcelainbowls and with such last-named types the seat raising attachment isparticularly useful, because there is no liability of harm to theporcelain material, since the only parts engaging such material are ofrelatively extensive surface, and at best have no more than a slidingengagement therewith, thus avoiding any strains liable to be harmful ordestructive to brittle porcelain material.

The strap 6 and casing 7 may be of cast metal instead of sheet metal,but the sheetmetal construction is to be preferred because of cheapness.

vWhat is claimed is 1. A seat raising attachment for waterclosetscomprising a spring with means adapted to engage the rim of the bowl ofthe closet and slide therealong, and a holder for the spring adapted tobe attached to the under face of the seat of the closet adjacent to thehinges thereof.

2. A seat raising attachment for waterclosets comprisingJ a coiledspring with a carrier therefor adapted to be secured to the seat memberof the water-closet adjacent to the hinged end thereof, said springhaving an arm extension with means at the end remote from the spring forengaging and sliding along the ring of the bowl of the closet.

3. A seat raising attachment .for waterclosets, comprising a spring withmeans securing it to the seat of the closet, said spring having an armextension terminating in a portion shaped to straddle and slide alongthe rim portion of the bowl of the closet.

4. A seat raising' attachment for waterclcsets comprising a spring withmeans securing it to the seat of the closet, said spring having an armextension terminating in a portion shaped to straddle and slidealong therim portion of the bowl of the closet, said spring having means forvarying its tension at will.

5. A seat raising attachment for waterclosets comprising a coiledspring, a drum to which one end of the spring is secured, said springhaving an arm extension at the other .end with means at its extremityfor engaging the rim portion of the closet bowl to slide therealong, anda carrying member for the spring drum adapted to be secured to the seatporticn of the clcset.

6. A seat-raising attachment for waterclosets comprising a coiledspring, a drum to which one end of the spring is secured, said springhaving an arm extension at the other end with means at its extremity forengaging the rim portion of the closet bowl to slide therealong, and acarrying member for the spring drum adapted to be secured to the seatportion of the closet, said drum having axial spindle projections at theends with one spindle shaped to lock the drum against rotation, and saiddrum being movable against the normal tendency o-f the spring to releasethe drum from the locked position.

7. A seat raising attachment for water closets comprising a coiledspring, a drum extending through the spring and to which the latter issecured, said spring being capable of contraction by an axially appliedforce, journal bearings for the drum at opposite ends, journal spindlesadapted to said bearings, one of the spindles on the correspondingbearing being shaped to lock the drum against rotation and the axiallydirected expansive force of the spring holding the spindle in the lockedposition, the spring drum and spring having carrying means for securingthem to the closet seat,

and a bowl engaging member projecting Jfrom the spring With means at theend remote from the spring for engaging and sliding along the rim of thebowl.

8. A seat raising attachment for water closets comprising a coiledspring, a drum extending through the spring and to which the latter issecured, said spring being capable of contraction by an axially appliedforce, journal bearings for the drum at opposite ends, journal spindleson the drum adapted to said bearings, one of the spindles and thecorresponding bearing being shaped to lock the drum against rotation andthe axially directed expansive force of the spring holding the spindlein the locked position, the spring drum and spring having carrying meansfor securing them to the closet seat, and a boWl engaging memberprojecting from the spring with means at the end remote from the springfor engaging and sliding along the rim of the bowl, said rim engagingportion having projecting parts adapted to extend along the sideportions of the rim of the boivl in a direction toward the base of thebowl.

9. A seat raising attachment for Water closets comprising a strap ivitha casing at one end and journal supports alined With the longitudinalaxis of the casing, said strap being adapted to be attached to the seatorn the Water closet, a spring drum in the casing, and a coiled springmounted on the drum and secured thereto, said spring being provided Withan arm extension at one end terminating in a straddling member adaptedto engage and embrace the rim portion of the bowl of the Water closet toslide along said rim.

l0. A seat raising attachment for Water closets comprising a strap witha casing at one end and journal supports alined With the longitudinalaxis of the casing, said strap being adaptedfto be attached to the seatof the Water closet, a spring drum in the casing, and a coiled springmounted on the drum and secured thereto, said spring being provided withan arm extension at one end terminating in a straddling inem-'.- beradapted to engage and embrace the rimf portion of the bowl of the watercloset to slide alcng said rim, said spindle being movable lengthwise ofits longitudinal axis in its journal bearings with one journal bearingand the portion of the drum mounted therein being coactively shaped tolock the drum against rotation at one limit of its longitudinalmovement, and the other journal bearing having means for engaging thespring to tension it longitudinally7 and thereby hold the drum in thelocked position.

In testimony, that I claim the 'foregoing as my own, I have heretoaffixed my signature in the presence of tivo witnesses.

VALTER GEORGE ODELL, JR.

Vitnesses ALLrsoN V. MINTERN, W. VELLFORD VILSON.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Pafcexitsy Washington, D. C.

